I ride quite frequently on the MUP bike paths here in Tucson (Rillito River Path, Santa Cruz River Path), and find them to be a very enjoyable way to ride. Quiet, with no motorized traffic and just walkers, joggers, cyclists and a few in-line skaters. I've only on occasion been in situations where an incipient accident could have occurred and I've been able to avoid most problems.
The only exception was riding on a curve in the path, approaching a bridge, when another cyclist came around the path at speed in my lane. I attempted to avoid him, but we both swerved into the same path and a collision resulted. I came out of the accident the worst, the other cyclist remounted and took off. My front wheel was "potato-chipped" and I had a rather nasty abrasion on my arm. Almost immediately, an elderly couple rendered assistance and drove me back to my car which was parked at one of the access points for the bike path. They were very kind and I certainly had reason to appreciate their actions. All in all, I still enjoy riding on the paths, although most of my riding is during the week. The other cyclists whom I encounter are generally observant and may frequently wave if they pass in an opposing direction. I rarely ride on the weekends, when I'm sure the traffic increases on the path. The only time it tends to get hectic is around the October and November time frame, when many more cyclists are out "training" for the El Tour de Tucson (our major bike perimeter race/ride which takes place the Saturday before Thanksgiving every year). At that time I really make an effort to avoid the path during the weekends. I certainly do ride on the normal streets in Tucson, but just for a regular ride of short duration (1-2 hours) I prefer our bike paths. Especially during the summers, they aren't really very heavily used and they offer the opportunity to ride in a pleasant environment. Jim Cloud Tucson, AZ On Aug 7, 11:27 am, Larry Powers <[email protected]> wrote: > I hate MUP's and avoid them at all costs. At lest around here (central > Connecticut) I can always find a route on the roads that I feel comfortable > on. I am much more comfortable riding in traffic that is all moving in the > same direction then I am on a trail with oblivious walkers pushing strollers > and walking dogs on long long leashes. Then add in the kids on bikes, > skates or anything else and bicyclists who don't give a darn about the > conditions and ride flat out no matter what and you have an accident waiting > to happen. Maybe there are no other good options in other parts of the > country but it does not sound like enjoyable riding to me. > > I am glad you and your Atlantis came through in relatively good shape. > > Larry Powers > > Get a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live. - Mark Twain > > Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2012 10:58:16 -0700 > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Subject: [RBW] Biking incident on Seattle BGT... > > As a commuter, I'd like to think I'm pretty good about > being safe, riding defensively, especially when it comes to using MUPs > (multi-use paths), which brings me to an incident my wife and I had > yesterday on the Burke-Gilman Trail just north of 70th Ave NE (or is it > NE 70th?) in Seattle. The last days here have been pretty nice, although > very hot, the trail tends to get very busy with cyclists, pedestrians, > pedestrians with dogs, pedestrians with perambulators, and so forth. All > good stuff; there's no denying that because one way or another, as > individuals, we all use the trail system in a variety of those roles. > But not everyone understands that this is a MUP, and that common sense > dictates that everyone needs to look out for one another, especially > when the trail gets congested along the way. > > Imagine taking a leisurely ride on your local MUP on a very nice weekend > morning. The trail has its busy sections here and there. Cyclists and > pedestrians are moving along pleasantly enough; lots of "on your left" > and passing around people two, three abreast, cooperating with the > riders. You're going along at a casual 9 to 10 mph. No biggy; safe > enough. > > Everyone's enjoying their day on the tree-lined trail with a nice little > breeze. You notice that there's a threesome of pedestrians abreast of > each other, chatting, about 50 feet or so ahead of you. There are other > cyclists "on your lefting" as they pass. The trail is getting a little > congested, and your preparing to slow down as you approach the > pedestrians to pass. "On your left," the pedestrian don't heed your > warning and at the same time some rider goes zipping by you without any > warning as you're making your move, oblivious of the situation, causing > you to slam on your brakes in order to not run into the people in front > of you, and causes you to jar your shoulder, and hit you pubic bone > against the bike stem and cut your leg on the chain ring as you try to > stabilize your bike without taking a full-on fall. And, your spouse who > is riding behind you, swerves to the left across the trail and into the > ditch that runs alongside it so that he/she doesn't rear-end you. Not a > pretty scene. > > So here's the rant. These MUPs aren't high-speed highways for cyclists. > I'm pretty sure there's a 15 mph speed limit on the BGT. Although, I > really believe that most of the cyclist that use these trails are pretty > sensitive to how they're used, they're a number of people who ride that > have no clue, and do not know how to anticipate a situation before it > happens, especially when the trail gets congested as traffic moves > along. Riding a bicycle really isn't much different than driving a car > when it comes to riding defensively. Yes, pedestrians, on and off the > trail, have the right-of-way! And if we could all predict the future > before it happens, wouldn't life be box of chocolates. It's not that > way, especially in a traffic situation. We're not perfect, that's a > given. But what happened to common sense, courtesy, and respect. > > Anyway, I landed safely in the ditch, nothing serious happened to me or > my Atlantis, except for a little gouge I took in the calf from a pedal > spike. The rider would've kept on riding if it weren't for my wife > yelling at the rider to come back. Thankfully the rider did come back to > listen to my wife's lecture, and then mine, as a few other riders sped > by without a "on your left." It's too bad that the rider who caused this > mess is most like not going to find this post. It would be good for her > to see the grapefruit-sized hematoma on her upper inner thigh, and the > cuts and bruises on her leg. > > Steve DeMont > Seattle > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > > To view this discussion on the web > visithttps://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/ajEfWz1grbMJ. > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > > For more options, visit this group > athttp://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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